The Pentateuch: Jacob and His Wives, Genesis 29-32
Rebekah had just sent her younger son, Jacob, away to find a wife with her family in order to keep him away from Esau, who had vowed to kill Jacob. Rebekah instructed Jacob to deceive Isaac, the boys’ father, in order to receive the blessing Isaac intended to give to Esau, the older of the twin boys. Jacob then set out to find Rebekah’s family, and we pick up with him when he comes upon shepherds with their flocks of sheep.
Jacob discovers that these shepherds are from Haran, and they are Laban’s people. Laban was Rebekah’s brother, son of Bethuel. He had two daughters, Leah, the older, and Rachel, the younger. Leah is not described as a beautiful woman, but Rachel takes this praise. Jacob met Rachel on the road and immediately fell for her, and Laban took Jacob in with the agreement that Jacob would work for Laban for seven years in exchange for his daughter, Rachel, as Jacob’s bride.
15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Because you are my relative, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” 16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were [a]delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.
18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, “I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter.”
19 And Laban said, “It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me.” 20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her.
Jacob officially met his match with Laban. Jacob had been a deceiver, a heel grabbed, constantly seeking to make his way in the world by means of trickery. His mother, Rebekah, had been deceptive as well, and now her brother, Laban, was doing precisely the same. Jacob worked the seven years, the wedding happened, and the next morning Jacob realizes he had been duped into marrying Leah instead of Rachel as they had agreed. After Jacob impersonated his brother Esau, later Leah impersonates her sister Rachel, and Jacob gets a taste of his own medicine.
Laban claims that it is customary for the older daughter to be married first, but he promised that in exchange for another seven years of labor, Jacob could marry Rachel as well. Jacob wanted Rachel so badly that he agreed to take both sisters as his wives for additional years of work. Jacob was now tied to Laban for 14 years in exchange for his two wives.
21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.” 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. 23 Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. 24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid. 25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
26 And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our [a]country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.”
28 Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also. 29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid. 30 Then Jacob also went into Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.
During the second seven years, Leah was neglected by Jacob who loved Rachel and seems to have begrudged Leah, whom he did not choose to marry. While Leah was neglected by Jacob, she was seen by the Lord. God saw her, had compassion, and blessed her with many children. At first, she began naming the children with the hope her husband would finally love her. She craved the love of her husband. She and her sister clearly didn’t get along well either, leaving Leah surely feeling very alone. She was surely lonely, hurting, and neglected. Yet, God showed her favor and blessed her. Eventually, Leah refocused her praises and attention toward the Lord rather than her husband, and there she found contentment.
31 When the Lord saw that Leah was neglected, he opened her womb; but Rachel was unable to conceive.
Leah was blessed with 6 sons, and we also see a daughter named from Leah. Leah was unloved by her husband, but she was not neglected by the Lord. He cared for her, and gave her many children. Two very important tribes came from her sons Judah and Levi. Judah’s tribe was a kingly line, while Levi’s descendants later became the priestly line. This showed love and favor to Leah, and teaches a vital point that God does not look at what people look at – He values all of His creation, and cares even for those who lack love from people. Leah is a great encouragement for all of us who have faced these kinds of heartaches and loneliness.
When Leah stopped having children for a while, she sent her maid, Zilpah, to bear more children on her behalf. It was customary in that culture and time that if a woman was not able to bear children she would have a slave woman have children with her husband, but the children would be legally the wife’s. Zilpah being Leah’s maidservant, her children legally belonged to Leah. Zilpah bore two sons.
Concubine, Zilpah, Leah’s maid (H2153) – a trickling
Rachel was the favored wife of Jacob – the wife he ended up working 14 years to be able to marry. Rachel was a physically beautiful woman, but as we read through her part in history she reveals herself to be just as deceptive as her husband, aunt, and father. As she was barren for so long, she grew bitter and took it out on Jacob. She begged her sister for mandrakes, which in their culture was believed to increase fertility, showing that Rachel was taking matters into her own hands versus trusting God with her barrenness.
When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she envied her sister. “Give me sons, or I will die!” she said to Jacob.
2 Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, “Am I in the place of God? He has withheld offspring[a] from you!”
Eventually, God gave her a son, the last son born to Jacob for a very long time. Many years later, Rachel would have a second son, the final son of Jacob, making Jacob father to 12 sons who would become the 12 tribes of Israel.
Jacob had two wives, two concubines, and at that point 11 sons. He had been working for Laban, his uncle and father-in-law, for 14 years and wanted to begin planning for the long-term care of his growing family. He knew he would eventually inherit the land promised to Abraham and his father Isaac, and he would need to go back home to claim it. He also knew his brother, Esau, was still back at home but he did not know if Esau still wanted to kill him.
Jacob made a final agreement with Laban to work another seven years, but this time it would be for a portion of the flock. He would take the less desirable flock, leaving the spotless sheep for Laban. Jacob asked for the spotted, speckled, and miscolored animals while leaving the spotless, pure-colored ones for Laban, making it easy to distinguish from one another’s animals. Before sending the flock with Jacob, though, Laban continued to cheat Jacob and separated all the current flock that was the coloring allocated to Jacob, gave them to his own sons, and handed the remaining spotless flock over to Jacob – the coloring designated to belong to Laban.
31 So he said, “What shall I give you?”
And Jacob said, “You shall not give me anything. If you will do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep your flocks: 32 Let me pass through all your flock today, removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and these shall be my wages. 33 So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come, when the subject of my wages comes before you: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and brown among the lambs, will be considered stolen, if it is with me.”
34 And Laban said, “Oh, that it were according to your word!” 35 So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted, all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had some white in it, and all the brown ones among the lambs, and gave them into the hand of his sons. 36 Then he put three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Jacob didn’t ask to be handed the flock, but to continue caring for all of them and over the seven years he would then take all the miscolored and Laban would have the spotless. The flock Jacob was breeding started as spotless, but they produced offspring that were the coloring that was agreed to be Jacob’s. In that time, Jacob showed his faith in God’s provisions, and both he and Laban couldn’t help but acknowledge the favor bestowed on Laban by the Lord while Jacob was with him.
Jacob’s allotted flock was flourishing far greater than Laban’s, Jacob was growing prosperous, his family was expanding nicely, and Laban’s sons were growing envious of the success and growing wealth of Jacob. Jacob realized that he was no longer favored by Laban, and receives instruction from the Lord that it was time to head back home.
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” 2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. 3 Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”
Unbeknownst to Jacob, Rachel took along her family’s idols. These idols were false gods that her family worshipped and were seen as an inheritance for the oldest son. It is unknown why Rachel took them, but this was an excuse for Laban to chase after Jacob, accusing him of theft, and we see Jacob begin to stand up for himself and the 20 years of deceit and manipulation he experienced from Laban. Rachel lies to conceal her theft, and we again see a glimpse of Rachel’s true colors. Jacob’s favored wife is beautiful on the outside, but deceptive on the inside.
The relationships especially between Laban, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel were all founded on lies and mistrust, and the fruits of that deception are evident all over this story. Leah was lonely and unloved by her family, Rachel was a bitter liar and a thief, Jacob was a heel grabber through and through, and Laban was a trickster and manipulative head of the family. Eventually, they all parted ways with a covenant between them and the Lord.
51 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this heap and here is this pillar, which I have placed between you and me. 52 This heap is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me, for harm. 53 The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of their father judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the [a]Fear of his father Isaac. 54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread. And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain. 55 And early in the morning Laban arose, and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them. Then Laban departed and returned to his place.
Jacob continues on his journey home with his large family, flocks, and great wealth he has accrued over those 20 years serving Laban. He knows he will have to face Esau but he does not know what this will be like. He develops a plan to appease his brother, but along the way when Jacob was alone he found himself wrestling with a stranger. Jacob fought and fought, yet neither prevailed until the stranger touched the socket of Jacob’s hip and put it out of joint. Jacob still would not let go – until he received a blessing. In this moment, Jacob was subdued by the Lord and Jacob knew it. He was desperate for a blessing from the Lord, and clung to Him until he received one.
22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children,[a] and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel,[b] for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel,[c] saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
Through these 20 years of hiding from his brother, the Lord taught Jacob that he should have trusted God all this time rather than living in fear, scheming and plotting, manipulating and grasping, thinking he could do better on his own terms. He needed to submit to the Lord, let the Lord lead him and his plans, and recognize that it was God alone who would bless and provide for him, as well as correct and discipline him. Nothing Jacob could do would bring the best outcome God had in store for him. Trusting God was the only way – and likewise, trusting God is the only way for us as well.
Just as we receive a new identity as “Child of God” when we submit to the Lord in faith, Jacob was given a new name – Jacob would now be called Israel. Israel means “to face God” or to “struggle with God” but with the emphasis that God prevails. This name is given to God’s people – the Israelites – who would struggle with God, as well, for centuries. Jacob was the father of the Jewish nation and the people’s hearts so often resemble Jacob’s example.
Before Abraham died at the age of 175 he took a woman named Keturah to be his unofficial wife, which was a form of concubine, making Keturah and Hagar the two concubines of Abraham, both of whom gave him children. Keturah gave him 6 sons, who were as follows with their children and grandchildren.
Zimran
Jokshan
Sheba
Dedan
Asshurim
Letushim
Leummim
Medan
Midian
Ephah
Epher
Hanock
Abidah
Eldaah
Ishbak
Shuah
The covenant between God and Abraham passed to Isaac alone, though, and Abraham bestowed other worthy gifts to his other children and sent them away from the land Isaac and his descendants alone would inherit through the covenant. Abraham clearly didn’t want there to be any confusion about who would inherit this great promise, yet showed love and consideration for all of his children.
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. 6 But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.
When Abraham died, Isaac would have been about 75 (Abraham was about 100 when Isaac was born Genesis 17-18). Abraham was buried with Sarah on the property he bought from the Hittites as a burial plot for his people. To further establish the covenant passing to Isaac, God blessed Isaac after Abraham’s death.
Genealogy of Ishmael
Ishmael was Abraham’s son by Hagar, who was the slave of Sarah. Sarah had taken it upon herself to propose Abraham have a son through Hagar because Sarah was barren for so long, yet God had promised Abraham a son. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, and Sarah later was blessed with Isaac, and then Ishmael and Hagar were sent away. Ishmael and Hagar eventually settled in across from Egypt in the lands from Havilah to Shur. God blessed (and cursed) Ishmael, and from him came 12 tribes from his 12 sons.
Isaac and Rebekah had two sons, fraternal twins named Esau and Jacob. After a troublesome birth, Esau came first and Jacob came from the womb holding onto the heel of his brother. This ended up being a sign of how Jacob would live much of his life. God had told Rebekah that the younger son would be served by the older, and Rebekah favored Jacob. Isaac, on the other hand, favored Esau, the oldest son.
21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name [a]Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called [b]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
Esau and Jacob are prime examples of why parental favoritism is unhealthy. The Lord had told Rebekah that Jacob would be the leader – not Esau. This would go against tradition, yet it wasn’t so far from what had happened with their father, Isaac. Isaac was the second son, yet he was the one to inherit Abraham’s covenant with God and all that came with it, rather than Ishmael who was born first. Now, it would pass again to the second son, Jacob.
Esau gave away his birthright
In their culture, the birthright of the firstborn was a double portion of the inheritance – the land, slaves, wealth, etc. In this case, it also included the covenant between God and Abraham’s descendants. Esau held his birthright with such contempt that he sold it for a bowl of stew and a piece of bread. In this, he vowed it would be Jacob’s This kind of vow made between Jacob and Esau was a binding and very serious vow, therefore now Jacob was promised to receive the birthright of the firstborn – all for a meager meal.
29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called [a]Edom.
31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”
32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”
33 Then Jacob said, [b]“Swear to me as of this day.”
So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
While Isaac was dying, he requested Esau hunt some game and make him a special meal, then Isaac would bless Esau. Isaac’s blessing would be to pass the covenant on to him, therefore Rebekah stepped in after hearing her husband and convinced Jacob to trick Isaac and take the blessing, and therefore inheritance, for himself. Now, Esau had already vowed that Jacob could have his birthright, but the way it all panned out was deceptive and caused a great rift in an already tense relationship.
5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it.6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make [a]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”
Jacob did as his mother commanded, tricked his father, and took the blessing intended for Esau but that Esau had vowed to give to Jacob for some soup and bread. Esau clearly hadn’t intended to keep his promise, and was so furious that upon discovering that Jacob had taken the blessing and inheritance Esau vowed next to kill his brother.
The relationship between the family members was torn and Jacob fled from his brother to avoid Esau killing him. Rebekah sent Jacob away to find a wife among their relatives in Paddan-aram and Jacob has a vision from the Lord along the way there. In this vision, God confirmed His covenant with Jacob. Jacob’s response is astonishment. He places a marker at the spot he’d had the dream, and names it Bethel. Jacob vows that if God is faithful, he will be as well.
Perfect God of Imperfect People
There are many moving pieces in this story, and no one is really in the right. Isaac showed favoritism to the point Esau had been spoiled rotten and was incredibly ungrateful, Rebekah was deceptive and took matters into her own hands, Esau treated the inheritance of God’s covenant with contempt, and Jacob lied, cheated, and stole. In this story of toxic favoritism, questionable parenting, and ungodly behaviors we see, though, that God uses all things and all people for the good of those who love Him, and to fulfill His divine purposes. In this we can be encouraged that while people are corrupt and sinful, God is holy and perfect.
Jacob lived by deceit and his mother’s favoritism for years, and now he began to learn that God was with him. Just like for Jacob, that first time we trust God can be scary, and uncertain, yet reassuring. Jacob took a big step toward God, yet he wasn’t totally ready to trust Him yet. He committed to God if God would truly follow through with His end of the bargain. He wanted to see God show up.
Is there somewhere in your life you are waiting for God to show up?
Are you waiting for God to move a mountain, heal a hurt, bring comfort, grant peace, or provide in some way?
God is faithful, even when we are not. Those first steps are tough, but when we take those steps of faith, we are able to see God show up more clearly. Faith begins to grow, and over time we learn to trust God more.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience.
The Pentateuch: Faith and Sacrifice, Genesis 22-24
Abraham finally had the son God had promised to him. He had been tested and there had been moments of great faith and moments he lacked faith. Abraham’s lack of faith in God’s plan and timing led to him having a son, Ishmael, by a woman other than his wife, Sarah, who was now sent away with Hagar, the boy’s mother. God had made it clear that Isaac, Abraham’s son by Sarah, was the son God had promised, and Ishmael was sent away with the promise of an inheritance outside the land of Canaan promised to Isaac.
With this, though, there came the curse that Ishmael and Isaac would forever be in conflict with one another. To this day, many Arabs claim to be descendants of Ishmael. Eventually, the Muslim religion was formed on the claim that Ishmael was the promised son rather than Isaac, and even today there is much conflict between those who claim to be descendants of Ishmael and the Jewish and Christian nations.
But now, in Genesis 22, Abraham has his son whom God had promised. Isaac, who Abraham waited so many years for, was a growing boy, and God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to Him. This is such a turn in the story. The son God told Abraham would become a great nation is now to be killed in the name of the Lord. This is unthinkable. Yet, here was Abraham. Abraham responded by gathering the needed supplies, men, and his son the very next morning and heading off to the place the Lord had told him to go.
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
One question that begs to be asked is – why did God “test” Abraham? As Abraham takes his son to the mountain, we start to see what is really happening here. Isaac asks his father where the sacrificial lamb was. A completely reasonable question. Why had his father not brought one with him? Abraham’s response is key here.
7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the [a]lamb for a burnt offering?”
8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together.
Abraham, full of faith, tells this son whom God has promised will become a great nation, that God will provide the lamb. Abraham trusted that God would either provide an alternative sacrifice or He would raise this boy from the dead. God would provide the lamb because God made a promise, and Abraham believed it even to the point of raising his dagger, ready to sacrifice his son as the Lord commanded. At the very last moment, the Lord stopped Abraham from the deadly plunge and provided a ram stuck in a thicket nearby to take his son’s place on the altar. God provided a scapegoat to be sacrificed in place of Isaac; a ram whose blood would be spilled in Isaac’s place. Abraham’s son was spared.
Because of Abraham’s faith, God reaffirmed the covenant with him yet again. God didn’t test Abraham to see what Abraham would do. God knew exactly what Abraham would do. God showed Abraham that his immense faith would bring him blessings. It was because of Abraham’s incredible faith that God would continue to bless him, and why God made the covenant with him.
15 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Sometimes God needs to show us what our faith will result in. Sometimes we need to be reminded that faith in the Lord is always worth keeping. Abraham was willing to kill his son at the command of the Lord, knowing that God had His reason and would keep His promises even though this command seemed at the time to contradict the promise. By his faith, God spared his son and continued to bless him, and Isaac’s son would eventually become the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.
The Ram in the Thicket
Don’t miss the part of this ram in the thicket. This ram was provided to Abraham to take the place of his son on the altar. In these times, blood sacrifice was made to atone for sin. Blood payment was required in order for sins to be forgiven. Sacrifice is necessary for redemption. So when God provided this ram, the ram took the place of Isaac, spilling its blood instead of Isaac’s.
This is a foreshadowing of what Christ would later do for all mankind. Blood is still the penalty for our sins, yet God provided a scapegoat for us in sending Jesus to earth to live a sinless life and die a horrible death on the cross. Death is what we deserve for our sins, yet Christ took the penalty of all mankind upon Himself. He became our sacrificial lamb so that any who believe in Him and accept His blood as a sacrifice for their own sins would be forgiven and redeemed to God. Faith in the blood of Jesus is the only way to salvation. He is our ram in the thicket, taking our place so that our Father in Heaven need not send those who believe in the Lamb of God to the altar themselves because Christ has already spilled His own blood in their place for their sake.
9 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
After sparing him from death by sending a ram to die in his place, God reaffirms that Abraham’s descendants will be as numerous as the stars and the sand and that they will be given the land that has been promised. God also makes it clear that this blessing is because of Abraham’s faith. Blessings follow obedience to the Lord, and Abraham is a prime example of this. Because of Abraham’s great faith, God blesses Isaac. Abraham would not live to see all the fruits of this promise, but he knew God was faithful and remained obedient to Him. Sometimes we don’t see the fruits of our own faith, but we can have faith that even when we don’t see it, God is working, and God is always faithful.
Later, Sarah passed away and Abraham purchased land from the Hethites to become a burial property, adamantly refusing to take the land as a gift. He buried his wife, Sarah, who is the mother to his promised son, Isaac, and then Abraham turned his attention to finding a suitable wife for his son. He was very selective about the choice. She needed to be from their own people, so he sent a servant to his brother’s land.
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear[a] by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”
Abraham sent the servant with a blessing, full of faith and confidence that the Lord would go with him and lead the servant to the right woman to become his son’s wife. This future bride would be the mother of the promised descendants promised to Abraham by the Lord. God certainly had His choice picked out, and would make sure she was the one brought back to be Isaac’s wife and mother to his children.
The servant also had great faith that God was with him in his mission. Abraham was such a great leader to his people that he not only had great faith himself but instilled great faith in the Lord in those who served him. He led by example, and others followed his example and trusted the Lord. This servant prayed to the Lord very specifically. He asked for a particular sign so he would know who the right woman was without doubt.
12 Then he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, please give me success this day, and show kindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, here I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. 14 Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say, ‘Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”
15 And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah,[a] who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder. 16 Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold, a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the well, filled her pitcher, and came up. 17 And the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher.”
18 So she said, “Drink, my lord.” Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 And when she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.”
These kinds of examples are precious to me. The servant prayed for something very distinct to happen so he would know it was God’s choice, and God answered by the exact means the servant had prayed for. Whenever we see an example of prayer in scripture, it is a beautiful opportunity to grow in our own faith and prayer life. God heard the servant’s prayer and gave him what he had asked for as a sign.
When he arrived in Nahor’s town of Aram-naharaim a girl showed up and offered him a drink from the well and also to give water to his camels. This was exactly what the servant had just prayed to happen as a sign, and that the woman who made this offer would be the one to marry his master’s son. The servant did not hesitate to jump on the answered prayer. Throughout the journey, the servant prayed, worshipped, and trusted the Lord and eventually brought Rebekah back home to marry Isaac.
26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the Lord. 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
Rebekah was essentially Abraham’s great-great niece, making her a distant cousin to Isaac. This kind of infer-family marriage was incredibly common.
Abraham, Nahor, and Haran were brothers
Milkah was the daughter of Haran
Nahor married Milkah
Nahor and Milkah bore Kemuel
Kemuel fathered Bethuel
Bethuel fathered Rebekah
When the servant returned with Rebekah, Isaac married her and he loved her. She took her place in the tent Sarah had so recently vacated with her passing and was a comfort to her husband.
67 Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent; and he took Rebekah and she became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
God is always faithful, even when we are not. Through Abraham’s life, we see this played out. There were times Abraham lacked faith, yet God still stayed true. Then we see when Abraham was faithful, God blessed him greatly. This is true for all of us. When we are faithful to the Lord, with our hearts and minds focused on Him, God blesses our faith. We don’t always see it, and sometimes (often) the blessing is extended to others. Here, Abraham’s son was the one to benefit greater from the blessing, and there was still the promise God had made of 400 years of slavery ahead before the promised land would truly belong to Abraham’s descendants. A lot would happen between the making of the promise and its fulfillment.
Regardless of how long it takes to see the fruit, or if we ever do see it, we can trust that the Lord is always faithful and that our obedience is always rewarded. God provides all that we have and can take it away just the same. These are tactics parents use to teach our kiddos the differences between right and wrong, good behavior and bad behavior, and so on – and we get it from God. God teaches us that obedience brings blessing, and disobedience brings consequences.
There is a price for sin and a reward for faith. We should not choose faith for the sake of the reward, otherwise, that is not faith – that is a transaction. We have faith because of who God is, and that is enough. Believing and trusting in who God is allows us to have such faith as Abraham had, and also because of the loving Heavenly Father God is, He loves to reward His children for their faith.
Faith is not faith because of the blessing, but because of the God whom we serve. Abraham knew this and is a reminder and important example for all of us that those who walk with the Lord can always trust in His faithfulness, yet those living outside the will of God will reap the consequences of their sin. Yet, all are welcome, and the Ram in the Thicket was sent to be a sacrifice for all who would believe and have faith in Him and the blood He spilled for them.
With great faith comes great responsibility, just as Abraham was given. He was now the father of nations, the receiver of such a great promise that came with a great burden to lead his people in the ways of the Lord and instill a deep faith in them as well. His faith impacted generations upon generations. Only God knows the entire depth and width of this impact made by such faithfulness.
Now faith is the [a]substance of things hoped for, the [b]evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
3 By faith we understand that the [c]worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she[d] bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off [e]were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 [f]of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
The Pentateuch: Covenant and Destruction, Genesis 16-21
God had reaffirmed His covenant with Abram. He promised Abram that he would have a son of his own to be his heir, and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. He also promised Abram land and showed Abram a sign of this covenant, to establish the authenticity and genuineness of the covenant, and instructed Abram that it would still be many generations of hardship before the land would be given to his people. God made it clear that these promises would take time to fulfill, which meant Abram would need to have faith and patience.
Yet now, here were Sarai and Abram taking matters into their own hands, making up their own minds how God’s will should come about. In their impatience and frustration at not yet having a child of their own so late in their lives, Sarai suggests and Abram agrees to have a child by Sarai’s slave woman, Hagar. God had reaffirmed His promises to Abram multiple times, yet here Abram was. I can’t help but notice how human this situation is. We human beings certainly still lack the patience and faith to wait for God’s timing and will to be revealed.
Hagar and Ishmael
It was a cultural custom of those times that if a wife could not have children, in order to keep her husband’s line going he would have children with concubines or additional wives. Polygamy was very common because of this. If the man had no children, he had no heirs, so he would have them by a woman other than his wife, or take multiple wives to make sure he would have children to carry on his bloodline and legacy. What Sarai suggested was the custom of the times, but that was not what God wanted them to do. He wanted them to have faith in His promises, trust in His plan, and be patient for His timing.
3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan. 4 So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her [a]eyes.
5 Then Sarai said to Abram, [b]“My wrong be upon you! I gave my maid into your embrace; and when she saw that she had conceived, I became despised in her eyes. The Lord judge between you and me.”
6 So Abram said to Sarai, “Indeed your maid is in your hand; do to her as you please.” And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence.
Sarai and Abram decide to have a child through Hagar, and when Hagar becomes pregnant it’s like reality hits them that this was a bad plan. Sarai and Hagar butt heads, Hagar ended up despising Sarai, Sarai became cruel to Hagar, and then Sarai blamed Abram for the conflict. Sarai mistreats Hagar so much that Hagar runs away.
This is a great example of how disobedience to God leads us further from godliness. They disobeyed God by taking matters into their own hands, and then continued to behave sinfully toward one another. The fruits of disobedience were on full display. When God tells us that sin leads to death, death can sometimes mean death to relationships, joy, contentment, faith, and so much more – not just physical death.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the [a]gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Later, an angel of the Lord came and told Hagar to return to Sarai who had been treating her brutally. He made her a promise that her descendants would be too many to count, and tells her what her yet-to-be-born son’s name and fate would be. She praises God as El-roi – the God Who Sees – recognizing that He sees her, truly, in full awareness of her, her circumstances, her pain, and also of her future. Her son will be named Ishmael, which means “God Hears”, indicating that God heard her in her suffering.
11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her:
“Behold, you are with child,
And you shall bear a son.
You shall call his name [a]Ishmael,
Because the Lord has heard your affliction.
12 He shall be a wild man;
His hand shall be against every man,
And every man’s hand against him.
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-[b]the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here [c]seen Him who sees me?”
Hagar obeyed God and returned, had her son, and when Ishmael was about 13 years old God appeared to Abram once again. This time, God declared Himself Almighty God and commanded Abram to “walk before [Him] and be blameless.” God is telling Abram to trust and obey, and to focus on Him and His will. God again reaffirms the covenant and again takes it a step deeper. Abram becomes Abraham, which means father of nations, promises Abraham the land of Canaan, gives the covenant of circumcision and then confirms that the child promised will come from Sarai, who is now to be named Sarah. Sarah will be blessed, and she will be the mother of nations.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am [a]Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
The prospect of Sarah and Abraham, both nearing 100 years old, becoming parents was dumbfounding. As Abraham and Sarah received this news, they both laughed in bewilderment. Abraham had questions, and Sarah in her embarrassment at laughing attempted to conceal her laughter.
17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!”
Abraham and Sarah were not perfect people. They missed the mark constantly, following their own plans and not waiting to find out what God’s plan was. They trusted to a degree but lacked the faith to remain faithful and obedient. When their plans didn’t work out as they had expected, their responses were again oh-so-human. Yet these imperfect people who struggled to be faithful all the time were who God chose to bless and use as the father and mother of God’s holy people.
It is so encouraging to see raw humans being used by God in such extraordinary ways. God made it clear they would not live to see the fruits of the promise, and this is yet another example for us still today. We do not often see the ways God is working things out around and ahead of us. We must have faith and hang on to the Lord and His promises, trusting in who God is instead of leaning on what we can understand and see in front of us.
Sodom and Gomorrah
When 3 heavenly visitors came to Abraham, they are revealed to be the Lord Himself with 2 angels to accompany Him. They were there to judge and punish the sins of the wealthy yet corrupt cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom is where Lot and his family now resided. When Abraham was aware of the impending destruction of the place of his nephew’s residence, he pled with the Lord. What if there were still righteous people living there? What if righteous people could still be found? I can only imagine Abraham’s hope that his nephew was faithful to the Lord, even though he was living in such a sinful place – so sinful that the Lord Himself came down to destroy it.
20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
God knew the conversation He was going to have with Abraham. He knew the responses He would get from Abraham, and He also knew what was happening in these sinful cities. He knew there were no righteous remaining there, and He knew He would save Lot for the sake of Abraham. God knew all the ins and out, befores, durings, and afters. He knew all the details, and He gave Abraham the opportunity to know God’s plan, reasons, and means. He let Abraham plea, knowing that it was futile – there were no righteous people left in these places and He knew it. Abraham expressed his understanding of God’s righteousness and His judgment. Abraham was given an opportunity to trust the great Judge of the whole earth, and to speak up for the possibility of righteous people who might be saved. God knew there were none, but He heard Abraham out nonetheless.
This is a beautiful example for us. Even while God knows all the same in our lives and circumstances, He knows the beginning and end, He knows the decisions we will make – God still gives us the opportunity to act, speak up, stand up, respond, ask questions, seek Him, and praise Him. No matter what we’re going through, we can speak to God truthfully, whatever is on our hearts, and He will listen. He already has a plan, but He wants us to trust Him with our hearts, minds, and deeds.
Unfortunately, Sodom and Gomorrah were so far embedded in sin that there had been a great outcry against their sinfulness, and God was going to destroy them and everyone there – except Lot and his daughters. Lot’s wife and sons-in-law were offered the same opportunity to be saved, yet the sons-in-law refused, not taking it seriously, and Lot’s wife disobeyed and looked back. She seems to have clung to the sinful place she was fleeing, and because she failed in this she was turned to a pillar of salt, possibly representing the earthly wealth Sodom was known for and had corrupted so many hearts and lives leading to this horrifying level of utter destruction.
24 Then the Lord rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the Lord out of the heavens. 25 So He [a]overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26 But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
Lot’s family had gained status in Sodom, and the behavior of his wife, and then later that of his daughters, was evidence of how much the sinfulness of the city had influenced them. Lot’s own daughters deceived Lot to a disturbing extent and ended up bearing their father’s sons. These sons ended up fathering the Moabites, who would later be responsible for some of the most carnal seduction of Israel’s history, and the Ammonites who were responsible for human sacrifice. The seed of deep-rooted sinfulness was carried on with these children who were saved from fire and brimstone.
Ishmael and Isaac
After Abraham again fearfully claims Sarah as his sister rather than his wife to save his own neck, God prevents any harm or dishonor from coming upon this chosen woman, and they are yet again shown great mercy. God blesses them, preserves them, and leads them to an alliance of sorts with Abimelech.
God then fulfills his promise and Sarah and Abraham become parents of a son, Isaac. As Isaac grew, Ishmael was caught mocking Isaac. I can only imagine the strain of these relationships at this point. Ishmael would have been well into his teen years at this point and along comes the son that had been promised to his father by God, the one who would replace him and claim the birthright promised by God.
8 So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned.
9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing.[a] 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very [b]displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. 13 Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your [c]seed.”
God cleared matters up by encouraging Abraham to send Ishmael and Hagar away, and eventually, Ishmael’s descendants became 12 tribes who were primarily in what we know today as Arabia. To this day, there is conflict between the ancestors of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and those of Isaac, the son of the promise. This child was Abraham’s, so God blessed him in a similar way to how He blessed Isaac – Ishmael’s descendants, too, would be too many to count.
When Hagar had Abraham’s child, they had no idea the agony and conflict this one decision would cause. According to many historical records, Hagar and Ishmael settled in Mecca after they were sent away. Mecca, which is in modern-day Saudi Arabia, to this day is considered a holy Muslim city. Today, many Arabians trace their lineage back to Ishmael, and Muhammed, the founder of Islam, claims to be a direct descendant of Ishmael. The Quran, which is what Islam holds as a sacred text, esteems Ishmael as a prophet and messenger and claims Ishmael is the promised son rather than Isaac.
This is in direct contrast with the descendants of Isaac who would become the nation of Israel, the Jewish people, God’s chosen people. This is also a fulfillment of what God told Hagar while she was pregnant – that her son would be in constant conflict with his brother and his brother’s people, and that he would dwell near them. He was in the adjacent deserts and to this day there is still immense conflict between Arabs, many of whom trace their ancestry to Ishmael, and the Israelites, the descendants of Isaac.
The decision to make up their own minds rather than wait for God has had thousands of years of impact so far. When we choose to follow our own ways instead of seeking and obeying God’s way, we never know the full scale of the ripple effect. We never understand the immensity of the impact. God knows every ounce of it, though, so thankfully He has a plan for all of it, but with our free will comes great responsibility to cling to the Lord and prioritize His will and timing in all things.
Who wrote the Book of Jeremiah and who did they write it for?
The book of Jeremiah was written by the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah and was from Anathoth, which was near Jerusalem.
When did the events of the Book of Jeremiah happen?
Jeremiah’s ministry was from 626-586 BC, although he began writing the book of Jeremiah in 605 BC during the reign of Jehoiakim and finished writing it after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. He was a prophet of the Lord at the same time as Zephaniah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk.
What was the setting of the Book of Jeremiah?
Jeremiah served in a time of constant power struggles over the throne of Judah. The Jewish people were subjected to King Nebuchadnezzar, and they turned to idolatry rather than the Lord. Jeremiah was rebuking the people and proclaiming God’s judgment on them for their idolatry and lack of faith.
Reveals the challenges and inner turmoil of a prophet of the Lord.
Provides an example of a willingness to serve the Lord no matter the hardships.
Encourages believers to remain faithful to the Word of God no matter the suffering they face for their faithfulness.
Teaches the consequences of faithlessness and disobedience to God.
Encourages believers that we can still remain faithful even in the midst of a disobedient culture.
Reminds Christians of the importance of prayer, confession, repentance, and exhorting others to the Truth and Word of God.
Teaches believers the importance of knowing the Word of God intimately and living it out in all circumstances.
Encourages Christians to cling to the promises of God in faith.
Teaches believers that faithfulness to God brings blessing, and disobedience brings consequences.
Reminds believers that we have a responsibility to warn fellow believers of the importance of obedience to God.
Summary
Jeremiah served as a prophet after the death of King Josiah of Judah. Josiah was killed by the Egyptian army leaving Judah subject to the Pharoh Necho. The people of Judah appointed Jehoahaz to be their new king, but Pharoh Necho put his own choice, Jehoiakim, on the throne instead. The people of Judah then turned to idolatry rather than God, sparking Jeremiah’s proclamation of God’s judgment over them.
In 605 BC Pharoh Necho was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar who allowed Jehoahaz to remain on the throne of Judah until Jehoahaz rebelled and was replaced by Jehoiachin, who was exiled shortly afterward. Zedekiah, Jehoiakim’s brother, was then placed on the throne of Judah. He, too, rebelled against Babylon but Zedekiah came to Jeremiah for counsel from the Lord multiple times during this time. Jeremiah encouraged Zedekiah to surrender, but he would not do so, and later Jerusalem was overrun and burned, and thousands of people were captured and sent to Babylon.
Jeremiah was then sent to serve Gedaliah, who was killed shortly after he was appointed Governor of Judah, and Jeremiah then was forced to go to Egypt with Gedaliah’s supporters. There he continued to proclaim God’s judgment to the Jews for their unfaithfulness, idolatry, and disobedience.
Jeremiah is seen by some as the model of faithfulness, while others see him as a failure. He served as God’s prophet for more than 40 years, but the people constantly refused to listen to his warnings. He was put in prison, thrown down a well, taken out of his country against his will, not permitted to marry, and rejected by family, friends, neighbors, kings, and even false prophets. Even still, Jeremiah persisted in warning the people of the impending consequences of their continued sin against the Lord. Through all of the humiliation and hardship, Jeremiah remained faithful and obedient to God.
The Pentateuch: God’s Covenant with Abraham, Genesis 13-15
God had given Abram a new name and a promise, both of which told Abraham that God would make him the father of God’s people. After receiving this promise, Abraham went to Egypt because of a great famine in the land. While there, he was more afraid of the Egyptians than he was trusting in the Lord as he told the Egyptians that his wife was his sister in order to decrease the risk to his own life. Even in Abraham’s lack of faith, God intervened for him. The Egyptians were afflicted because they had treated Abraham’s wife as an available woman rather than a married one.
God is faithful even when we lack faith
The Egyptians sent Abraham and his family away and Abraham took his people to Negev and then to Bethel, back to where he had previously pitched his tent and built an altar to the Lord. Abram, even after his lack of faith in Egypt, was prospering under God’s promise. He followed where God led, and he was very wealthy in livestock and treasures. Even with his great wealth and his moment of weakness in Egypt Abraham continued to call on the name of the Lord.
Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev—he, his wife, and all he had, and Lot with him. 2 Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. 3 He went by stages from the Negev to Bethel, to the place between Bethel and Ai where his tent had formerly been, 4 to the site where he had built the altar. And Abram called on the name of the Lord there.
This is such an important example for all of us. Abraham, the man God chose to be the father of His holy people, had lacked faith, sinned, and had a great horde of wealth that would have surely been a serious temptation to rely on himself. Even in these moments, Abraham sought the Lord, and the Lord was there intervening for Abraham. God’s promise did not change because of Abraham’s sin and temptation – God continued to bless Abraham and hold true to His great covenant with him.
Lot leaves Abraham
In contrast to Abraham, whose focus and faith was in God, Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was focused on wealth and tempted by prosperous lands. When conflict arose between Lot’s people and Abraham’s, Abraham gave Lot a choice.
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, since we are relatives. 9 Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”
Abraham let Lot make the first choice of what land he would claim. He gave Lot the choice and trusted that whichever way Lot chose to go that God would still hold to His promise that Abraham would be given the land that was promised to him. Lot chose to give up his claim on the promised land and move out. He went and settled in an area that looked fertile, and beautiful, and reminded him of the stories he had been told of the Garden of Eden. Interestingly, he chose land that appeared on the surface to be like the holy place God had first placed His people, yet the land ended up being close to nations who were evil and sinful against the Lord. Looks can sure be deceiving, especially when our eyes are not filtered through the Lord but by our own desires.
Abraham then went the other way and settled in Hebron which is part of modern-day Jerusalem. So while Lot went to a sinful region, Abraham went and settled in what would become God’s holy city.
The War in the Siddim Valley
There was a war in the area at the time. Several kingdoms had been forced for 12 years to pay tribute to King Chedorlaomer of Elam. In the thirteenth year, enough was enough and they waged war in rebellion against these tributes they’d been forced to pay for so many years.
The kingdoms forced to serve and pay tribute to King Chedorlaomer of Elam were King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and King Zoar of Bela. King Chedorlaomer of Elam and his allies in the Siddim Valley, King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, and King Tidal of Goiim, defeated the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Emim in Sheveh-kiriathaim, the Horites in the mountains of Seir, the Zuzim in Ham, the Amalekites in Kadesh, and the Amorites in Hazazon-tamar.
When the armies of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela finally met in the Siddim Valley in battle against King Chedorlaomer and his allies, they began to flee but got trapped. Many perished in the asphalt pits of the region while others fled to the mountains. They were defeated. King Chedorlaomer and his allies plundered Sodom and Gomorrah, and also took Abraham’s nephew, Lot, captive with all his people and wealth.
Lot had decided to leave the land God had promised to give to Abraham, chose to settle in a sinful land, and now that same sinful land had been captured and ransacked, and Lot was in bondage to a great enemy.
10 Now the Siddim Valley contained many asphalt pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them,[a] but the rest fled to the mountains. 11 The four kings took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on. 12 They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, for he was living in Sodom, and they went on.
Elam, Shinar, Ellasar, and Goiim were all in what is now Iraq, Iran, and Syria. All of these countries to this day are enemies of the Lord and His promised land.
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (later named Zoar) were in what is now Israel and the Jordan Valley. These kingdoms were destroyed for their wickedness and are examples of what happens when evil is allowed to prosper.
Lot is Rescued
After Lot is captured by Elam and their allies, Abraham learns of the situation and goes to rescue him with 318 armed men. Think about this for a second – 4 armies just defeated and pillaged 5 armies. Abraham now takes only 318 men with him to rescue his kinsman from these 4 victorious armies. Even crazier is that Abraham and his men not only went up against impossible numbers, but they defeated the army that held Lot and chased after them all the way to Damascus, what is now the capital of Syria.
According to today’s geography, this is approximately 50 walking miles. Someone hitchhiking would be able to trek this distance in about 16 hours, but back then, with wild untamed terrain and an army of 318 men, they made this journey in pursuit of Lot’s captors. This was after Abraham left his new home in Hebron, which is in modern-day Jerusalem, and brought these 318 men about 125 miles, which would take about 40 hours nowadays in today’s conditions.
About 200 miles with 318 men to chase an army that had just defeated and looted 5 kingdoms in order to rescue his nephew who had left him to live in these sinful lands that had now been conquered. Then, Abraham and his men did defeat this army, reclaim his nephew, all that belonged to his nephew, and the other people and goods that had been captured.
14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken prisoner, he assembled[a] his 318 trained men, born in his household, and they went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 And he and his servants deployed against them by night, defeated them, and pursued them as far as Hobah to the north of Damascus. 16 He brought back all the goods and also his relative Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the other people.
So great was this victory that when Abraham had returned to Hebron, another 200-mile trek, the king of Sodom had survived the defeat of his kingdom and came to visit Abraham. The king of Salem, which is thought to be Jerusalem, where Hebron is located, was there with them. The king of Sodom offered a bargain to Abraham, saying that Abraham could have all of the goods, the immense wealth that the armies had looted and Abraham had claimed when rescuing Lot. All the king of Sodom wanted was his people. After all, you cannot have a kingdom without citizens to rule.
Imagine the temptation of all that additional wealth. Abraham was already wealthy, and the Lord had led him to a victory in reclaiming his nephew and all that his men had brought back home with them. In this moment it would have been very easy for Abraham to take the credit, to take the wealth being handed to him, and to accept praises for this great victory.
Abraham did none of these.
Abraham declined this arrangement and gave all the credit to the Lord. He was open and honest about his reason for declining all this wealth, telling the king of the sinful kingdom of Sodom that he had made an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, that he will not take a single thing that belongs to the sinful kingdom of Sodom.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the [a]persons, and take the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.”
Abraham resisted the temptation to boast and to take the wealth he was instructed by God to decline, and he gave all the credit and glory to the Lord for the victory and outcomes that unfolded. With this, the king of Salem and priest of God, Melchizedek, blessed Abraham.
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:
Melchizedek is an interesting character in scripture. In this moment of triumph, Abraham is not only blessed by Melchizedek but also gives Melchizedek his tithe. Tithes are our offerings to the Lord. Melchizedek is spoken of in other parts of scripture, and we see an interesting exploration and explanation in Hebrews.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated “king of righteousness,” and then also king of Salem, meaning “king of peace,”
without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;
but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.
Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,
for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
After all of this, the Lord comes to Abraham in a vision and encourages and blesses Abraham. Abraham had been faithful in so many things, and at this moment he announces his confusion to the Lord. He is honest with God about his confusion over having no children. God then reaffirms and strengthens the covenant with Abraham.
4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”
6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Don’t miss this moment. After God made a covenant with him, Abraham had lacked faith in Egypt, argued with his nephew over land, separated from Lot and gave Lot the choice of land, discovered his nephew had been captured, fought armies to win him back, and resisted the temptation to seize the great wealth and honor of such a victory. Abraham was on a rollercoaster of ups and downs. He wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes. He lacked faith sometimes. He was a sinner just like you and me. Yet at this moment, the Lord came to him and blessed him as the father of nations, and counted Abrahams’s faith as righteousness.
We don’t need to be perfect, either. What stands out about Abraham is that even when he did the wrong thing, he came back to God. God knew what Abraham’s intentions were. God knew what was in Abraham’s heart. God blessed Abraham’s faith, yet his faith was not flawless. He wavered just like you and I do. Then he got back up and sought the Lord’s will out again, and got right with Him.
God proceeded to make another important point at this juncture. He told Abraham that the promised land He was giving to Abraham would not be won until after Abraham’s offspring were enslaved and oppressed for 400 years. God said He will judge those who enslave his offspring, but that it will take a very long time and 4 generations after Abraham to get there. This would take a lot of patience and a lot of faith.
This is a promise we need to remember. God will keep His promises, and He will keep them in His time and in His ways. Faith requires patience, trust, and hope in the Lord. Faith requires that we believe and obey the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense to us. Sometimes, like Abraham, we will not see the promise fulfilled. Sometimes we will not see the problem solved and justice done. Sometimes we will not see the fruits of a promise kept. God asks us to trust His plan, and have faith that He will keep every promise He makes. Abraham believed this, and it was counted to him as righteousness.
What prayer are you waiting for God to answer? What promise are you waiting for Him to fulfill? Let Abraham’s journey be a needed reminder that God is always honest, and will show up when and how He knows is best and right. Keep trusting. Keep hanging on. Keep your eyes on the Lord. He is always working in ways we do not see, and He is always trustworthy. Let’s have an active faith like Abraham today.
18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
After Noah had been blessed by God, given a new covenant with the sign of the rainbow to remind both us and God of His promise, Noah cursed his grandson, Canaan. Ham, Canaan’s father, had disrespected Noah, mocking Noah after finding him passed out drunk and naked, revealing Ham’s heart of rebellion. Canaan and his descendants were cursed to be the slaves of Noah’s middle son Shem, while their oldest brother, Japheth, would also benefit from the curse of the youngest brother.
The two of Noah’s sons who did the honorable thing by respectfully coving their father’s nakedness had been blessed, while Ham’s line was cursed for making fun of their father and having sin in his heart. The curse on Canaan is important to remember. Throughout history, the land and tribe of Canaan will be impacted by this curse.
Why is the genealogy of Abraham important?
Genealogy can be a very confusing, exhausting, or even a boring study topic – but wherever there is a list of names in scripture, it tells us an important piece of the story. Through the genealogy of Abraham, we can learn a few key things through these confusing lists of seemingly disorganized names and places.
How many generations were there from Adam to Abraham?
From Adam and Abram, there were 18 generations, Abram being the 19th.
Adam
Seth
Enosh
Kenan
Mehalalel
Jared
Enoch
Methuselah
Lamech
Noah
Shem
Arpachshad
Shelah
Eber
Peleg
Reu
Nahor
Terah
Abram (later renamed Abraham)
What line did Abraham come from?
Abram, later renamed Abraham, came from the line of Shem who was blessed by Noah. Ham’s descendants from Canaan were cursed to be the slave of Shem’s descendants, and later God promises the land of Canaan to Abraham and all of his descendants.
Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Canaan was the son of Ham who had disrespected his father, Noah, resulting in a curse on Canaan. Canaan was founded by the son of Ham, but was later the land God promised to Abraham and his descendants. From Shem to Abraham there were 8 generations, making Abraham the 9th generation. With the lifespans of people in that time that would have been hundreds of years that each tribe would have been able to settle and build cities, develop livelihoods, and populate the land.
4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the [a]people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.
Nimrod, son of Ham, founded key kingdoms such as Babylon and Ninevah, located in modern-day Iraq. Babylon is given special accolades for its sinful idolatry and pride. They wanted to make names for themselves by making a tower so tall it reached the top of the skies. God had commanded the people to “be fruitful and multiply over the whole earth”. God’s instructions were clear – He wanted the entire earth to be populated, which required the current population to spread out and settle all over the world.
Those in Babylon, of Nimrod’s tribe, only 2 generations after Noah, had decided they didn’t want to be scattered. They wanted to elevate themselves and worked together to defy God’s command. This is an example of God giving mankind a choice knowing what they will do, and when they do the wrong thing God has to humble them. He came in and confused their languages, so now the people could not work together as they had – they were forced to disperse and migrate as the Lord had commanded them to do.
Sometimes God has to come in and poke holes in our plans to redirect us back to His plans. We have the choice of obedience or disobedience, and He is always actively working in us to bring us to His path. His path is the best path, every single time. God had said of the Babylonians “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” God saw that the people believed themselves invincible. They had elevated themselves over the Lord in their hearts, seeking to be like God – sound familiar?
5 Then the Lord came down to look over the city and the tower that the humans[a] were building. 6 The Lord said, “If they have begun to do this as one people all having the same language, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let’s go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 Therefore it is called Babylon,[b][c] for there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth, and from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.
Where did Japhet, Shem, and Ham’s descendants settle?
Japheth’s descendants migrated primarily to Turkey and Europe. Ham’s descendants eventually migrated primarily to Africa and Arabia, and the Egyptians (Mizraim is also translated as Egypt) and the Philistines came from his line. Shem’s descendants had scattered but were intermingled with much of Ham’s descendants. Eventually, as we see, Abraham (who was from Shem’s line) was given Canaan which established the Promised Land.
Why is the genealogy of Abraham so important?
Jesus Christ was born into the world through the line of Abraham, who came from the line of Shem, Noah’s middle son. Noah descended from Seth, the 3rd son of Adam and Eve who was born to replace Abel, who was killed by his brother, Cain. This genealogy, while confusing, is vital because it provides us with the first 19 generations leading to the earthly birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
God’s covenant with Abraham
We see the genealogy of Abraham, and then begin to learn about Abraham himself. His first name was Abram, which means “[my] father is exalted”. God later changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of multitudes”. This new name is a sign of the covenant God made with him. God called on Abraham, giving Abraham an opportunity to show his faith and obedience to the Lord. Abraham left the land in which he had lived for 75 years with his family, taking his wife, Sarai (who was also his half-sister), and his nephew, Lot, who was the son of Abraham’s brother, Haran.
God called him away from all Abraham knew and promised to make him into a great nation. Abraham is an incredible example and encouragement to all of us. God blessed Abraham because of his faith in the Lord. The blessing came with tough choices and hard work. This blessing didn’t come easy. As with Abraham, God will call on us to do hard things that take immense faith in Him. We can trust in the promises and guidance of God just as Abraham did, and also trust that God will bless our faithfulness and obedience to Him.
Now all who have faith in the Lord are called sons of Abraham. All who are welcomed into the family of God are also welcomed into the family of Abraham. So great was his faith that God promised to make him a great nation, and now all believers are adopted into the line of Abraham.
7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
From creation to the birth of Noah, 1,056 years had passed. Noah is a direct descendant of Adam and Eve’s son, Seth, whom God gave them in place of Abel, the son killed by their other son, Cain. Adam was 130 years old when he and Eve had Seth. Seth had Enosh when he was 105, Enosh had Kenan at 90, Kenan had Mahalalel at 70, Mehalalel had Jared at 65, Jared had Enoch at 162, Enoch had Methuselah at 187, Methuselah had Lemech at 187, and Lamech had Noah at 182.
Adam lived 930 years
Seth lived 912 years
Enosh lived 905 years
Kenan lived 910 years
Mehalalel lived 895 years
Jared lived 962 years
Enoch lived 365 years*
Methuselah lived 969 years
Lamech lived 777 years
Noah lived 950 years
All but Lamech died in their old age, whereas Enoch was a man who walked with God until he was no longer on earth because God took him. This “took” (H3947 – lāqaḥ) is to be taken away, taken from, or carried away. So Enoch did not die an earthly death as we know it, but was taken up and away by the Lord. This is the same word the prophets of Bethel used to tell Elisha that the Lord would take Elijah away.
24 Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him.
In the lifetime of Noah, whose name means “bring us relief” or “rest” (H5146 – nōaḥ), mankind was so sinful that God regretted making them. The word used for “regretted” is to be sorry, to grieve, to repent. God saw how wicked mankind had become and was so sorry to have made them He changed directions in His grief for their wickedness and told Noah His plans to wipe them all out, sparing only Noah’s family and 2 of every kind of animal.
6 the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved.
The Nephilim giants are credited throughout history as a major source of this corruption of mankind. There are several interpretations for these “sons of God”, in these cases being associated with supernatural beings. The most likely is that these “sons of God” are fallen angels cast out with Satan who left their proper spiritual domain to intermingle with human women, thus procreating abominable offspring, the Nephilim giants.
4 The Nephilim[a] were on the earth both in those days and afterward, when the sons of God came to the daughters of mankind, who bore children to them. They were the powerful men of old, the famous men.
6 One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan[a] also came with them. 7 The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”
6 and the angels who did not keep their own position but abandoned their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deep darkness for the judgment on the great day.
God’s solution to the problem of immense wickedness was to flood the entire earth so forcefully that it wiped out all “breath of life”. There was one man, though, who found favor with God. Noah was a righteous and blameless man who walked with God. He had found grace with God, and was acceptable to Him (H2580 – ḥēn). Because of this, God chose Noah to build what we not refer to as Noah’s Ark.
7 Then the Lord said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I created, off the face of the earth, together with the animals, creatures that crawl, and birds of the sky—for I regret that I made them.” 8 Noah, however, found favor with the Lord.
5 and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others,[a] when he brought the flood on the world of the ungodly;
7 By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
God told Noah of His plans for the flood and gave Noah instructions for a great ark to be built. The ark would carry and protect Noah’s whole family of 8 people, pairs of every kind of animal, and all kinds of food for them to eat while on the ark.
14 “Make yourself an ark of gopher[a] wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it with pitch inside and outside. 15 This is how you are to make it: The ark will be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high.[b] 16 You are to make a roof,[c] finishing the sides of the ark to within eighteen inches[d] of the roof. You are to put a door in the side of the ark. Make it with lower, middle, and upper decks.
17 “Understand that I am bringing a flood—floodwaters on the earth to destroy every creature under heaven with the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.
Imagine being in Noah’s position. You are the only man credited as righteous in a wicked and sinful world. Not only are you the only one acceptable to God, but you and your family are the only ones who are going to survive a flood that will wipe everyone and everything else out. He not only knew he would be rescued by God, but God gave Noah work to do to prepare. Noah had faith and did everything the Lord instructed him to do, while the rest of the world raged with sin and evil all around him.
God brought the Flood
Noah built this great ark to God’s specifications, and at the age of 600 he loaded his family on board, housed all the animals God sent to him, and sealed up ship before God opened the floodgates of the watery depths. The words here, “watery depths”, lead me back to Genesis 1:2. God created the whole earth from the watery depths which His Spirit had been hovering over before creation. The watery depths God had made the earth from had been unleashed so wildly that even the tallest of mountain peaks were completely covered. God brought forth the watery depths, and then He reigned them back in, revealing I am sure an incredibly transformed and soggy earth with a total of 8 human occupants.
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the sources of the vast watery depths burst open, the floodgates of the sky were opened,
All the wicked people of the earth had been wiped out, Noah and his family had survived, and the animal kingdom he housed on board was being released back to the earth. God tells Noah and his family that he and the animals shall be fruitful and multiply over the whole earth, just as God had told Adam and Eve less than 2,000 years previous to this new beginning.
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Noah, his family, and all the animals on board the ark were held within for a year while the waters flooded the earth and then receded once again, leaving the ark on the top of the mountains of Ararat. God told Noah to come out of the ark with his family and let the animals repopulate the earth. Noah built an altar and made a sacrifice to the Lord, and God made a covenant with Noah and all of his descendants.
20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. He took some of every kind of clean animal and every kind of clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 When the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, he said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of human beings, even though the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth onward. And I will never again strike down every living thing as I have done.
God vowed to never again wipe out all life with floodwaters. He also put Noah and his family in charge of caring for the animals of the earth as He had done with Adam and Eve, and called on his family to repopulate the earth with new generations of people. God knew all the time the wicked inclinations of mankind, but the blood price had been paid for the sins of the world and it was time to start new once more.
God placed a rainbow in the sky as a sign of this covenant, and any time we see a rainbow even today it is a sign from God that He remembers His covenant and will never again wipe out all of creation as He did with the great flood. Noah went on to live to the age of 950 years old.
28 Now Noah lived 350 years after the flood. 29 So Noah’s life lasted 950 years; then he died.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
The Bible begins with the book of Genesis, the stories from the very beginning. The first 5 books of the Bible are the Books of the Law, also called the Books of Moses, The Torah, or the Pentateuch. They are a composition of records that tell of the creation of all things, the genealogy of the first people, and the teachings of the Law that God gave to His people from the very beginning. Throughout this whole year, we will explore the stories God gives us in the Pentateuch. As we study and explore, I pray we all learn more about who God is and who we are to Him, as well as grow in our faith and devotion to Him.
The Creation
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This very first statement is the first truth God wants us to know – that He is Creator of everything. Scripture goes on to explain the process by which everything was created. Genesis 1 gives us an overview of the process of Creation. I find it powerful and helpful to look at particular words in the original Hebrew language to explore the significance of these passages even deeper.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. [b]So the evening and the morning were the first day.
The word used for “beginning” is used throughout the Pentateuch. This word, rē’šîṯ, is an absolute beginning. The very first, the very best. Here it speaks of the absolute beginning of creation. In the very beginning of everything, God created everything. He Himself is not created, but is the Creator of all. God was there at the beginning already, His Spirit moving over formless, living waters with which God made everything.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the[a]Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
This word is later used to indicate “the first fruits” which indicates the very first of something, and the best portion. In the beginning, God made all things, and later we will explore how God commands the first from us. We began because God made it so, and all beginnings, the first fruits, the choice parts, are to be for the Lord. This will be an important word throughout the Pentateuch.
19 The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
(Qal) to shape, fashion, create (always with God as subject)
of heaven and earth
of individual man
of new conditions and circumstances
of transformations
(Niphal) to be created
of heaven and earth
of birth
of something new
of miracles
The word used for “created” indicates the very birth of something, the original formation, shaping, and making of something. God birthed all of creation, He formed it as a potter forms clay, He brought it all into being out of the formless watery depths.
16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or [a]principalities or [b]powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Later in the New Testament, we read that all things were created through and for Christ. Here in Genesis 1, we read that “God said” and then “it was so” on each of the days of creation. We also see that God made the sky and began forming the earth out of the formless watery depths that the Holy Spirit hovered over. Jesus is the Word, He is the source of Living Water; all things were created through Him, and all things were made by God’s spoken Word through the formless deep waters.
On the first day of Creation, God made light. Something that strikes me about this is that at first, it was dark. God created the light. God saw that the light was good, and He also saw that the separation of day and night, light and darkness, was good.
5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. [a]So the evening and the morning were the first day.
On the second day of Creation, God made the sky. He separated the watery depths and made the sky out of a portion and the water that would later make up the earth from the other portion. The formless watery depths began to take shape.
6 Then God said, “Let there be a [a]firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
On day three of Creation God formed land to separate the waters on the earth. He created land and sea, and then called forth plants and vegetation from the new land He had made. As a gardener, I love the way scripture explains the creation of plants. He created seed-bearing plants and fruit trees. He created plants that yet-to-be-created mankind could cultivate. These seed-bearing plants were made to continue to reproduce, spread, and grow, and He created them “according to their kinds”. Each species was intentional, and the ways each would grow were deeply designed from the very beginning.
11 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.
On the fourth day of Creation, God created the sun, moon, and stars to rule over the day and night that He had made on day one. With the great lights, He made time, seasons, days, and years. He instilled a calendar into His Creation with the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. The sun rules over the day and the moon and stars over the night.
16 Then God made two great [a]lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. 17 God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
The two different words translated as “rule” here speak of the sun, moon, and stars having dominion, reigning over the day and night. They are given the power to rule over day and night. This is the same word used many times in today’s chapters.
Day 5 of Creation
On day five of Creation God created the sea creatures and the birds. Everything that has wings and gills was made, and God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply”. He designed animals with an instinct to reproduce as well, and again created each of them according to their kind. Genetics is instilled in all beings from the very beginning.
22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
On the sixth day of Creation, God made land animals of all kinds and instilled in them the same command as the sea creatures and winged animals – to multiply. He then made mankind and breathed the breath of life into him, and gave him dominion over all the animals of land, sea, and air, and the land and its vegetation.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over [a]all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that [b]moves on the earth.”
to subject, subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage
to bring into bondage, make subservient
to subdue, force, violate
to subdue, dominate, tread down
Mankind was made in the image of God and commanded to be fruitful and multiply – to fill and to subdue the earth, and to rule the animal kingdom. We were put above and in charge of all non-human life, and commanded to dominate the earth, the plants, and the vegetation. We were meant from the beginning to fill the whole earth and care for it. This domination is a perfect authority untainted by sin – it is not arrogant, power-hungry domination, but harmonious dominion over what God has made and called good.
From the beginning, all of Creation was given the command to be fruitful and multiply, but God specifically commanded mankind to govern the rest of the life God had made. God created all things, all life, and all order. He gave us time, seasons, days and nights, food, land, water, and a will to live, grow and prosper in this beautiful Creation as part of it all.
Day 7 of Creation
On the seventh day of Creation God rested from all of His work. He not only gave us seasons, days, and years but He established the week and made the 7th day of the week a holy day of rest. We know this now as the Sabbath, a day to rest with the Lord and be refilled by Him. God did not need to rest, He never tires, but He sets an example for us. There is a time for work and a time for rest. Once God had established order in His Creation, He rested.
It is not just a day to cease working, but He declared it holy. The seventh day should be kept holy in our own lives as well, and taken as a time to reflect on God’s creation, to be humbled by the intricacies of His unfathomable works of creating all we know, and all we have yet to discover.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.
God placed the first man, Adam, into a beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden, and saw he did not have a suitable life companion. So God put Adam to sleep, and from his rib God made woman to be a companion for man. God established the very first marriage, having created these first two human beings specifically for one another, which is a beautiful and literal example for each and every one of us. God does not just create all of us, but creates us for specific purposes, and creates each of us for the relationships He has planned ahead for us.
The Garden of Eden was a beautiful and perfect place, and it was a real location here on earth. It is said to be somewhere in or near Mesopotamia, which would be around modern-day Iraq, and we know it is near Assyria and the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. God chose to make this beautiful dwelling place for Adam and Eve in the Middle-East.
In Eden, God placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God commanded that Adam and Eve not eat its fruit. This was the only thing they were commanded not to do. Everything else was theirs except this one tree and its fruit. God gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to glorify Him with their obedience and faith. With this tree, God gave them free will. He allowed them to make the choice to obey and trust Him or to disobey Him and reap the consequences.
Then along came the serpent, who deceived them, they sinned and ate the forbidden fruit, and the consequence God had told them was death. This death was the death of their perfect union with God, the death of their perfect life in the garden, the death of purity, and eventually physical death. Death was not immediate, but there was much death because of their sin. They were given everything except one thing and they took the one thing and were cast out of the Garden of Eden, and the curse of sin no inflicts all mankind ever since.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was[a]pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [b]coverings.
As God cast them from the Garden of Eden, He performed the first sacrifice. He made them clothing from animal skins to cover their nakedness. He sacrificed an innocent to cover them after their sin. This is a foreshadowing of what was to come – that all sin requires a blood payment. All sin requires sacrifice. The penalty for sin is death, and from then forward blood sacrifice would be required in order to receive forgiveness of sins and be made right with God.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the [a]offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many [b]offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s [c]offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
After the fall, Adam and Eve had children. Their sons were Cain and Abel. Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. Abel gave some of the firstborns of his flock. He gave to God the best of his flock and gave to God first. Cain, on the other hand, gave God some of his crops he had harvested, but God was not pleased with Cain’s offering and Cain became angry. God made it clear that Cain’s heart and intentions were wrong in his offering to the Lord.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is[a]for you, but you should rule over it.”
Cain was upset, and God reminded him that if he would do what is right then he would be accepted, but if he does not do what is right sin is waiting at the door for him. This is a warning not only to Cain, but to all of mankind. If we fail to do what is right, sin is right there waiting for us, and desires to devour us. God commanded Cain, and likewise commands us, to rule over the desires of sin. We are to resist sin, and do what is right in the eyes of God. Cain, unfortunately, did not take the warning – he let sin rule over him rather than rule over sin, and he killed his brother out of jealousy and pride.
What God does next strikes me – God, like He did with Adam and Eve, asked Cain for the truth. He knew the truth, but He gave Cain the opportunity to confess honestly or to try to hide and conceal the truth. God then showed Cain mercy. His first act of mercy was in letting Adam and Eve live and still fill the earth rather than immediately wipe them out like He could have done. Now, God lets Cain live. Not only does He let Cain live, but He places a mark on Cain so that if anyone kills him in retaliation they will suffer vengeance seven times over. God condemns murder, spares Cain’s life, and protects him from being killed himself. This is again another lesson for all mankind – vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us.
13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My [a]punishment is greater than I can bear! 14 Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.”
15 And the Lord said to him, [b]“Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him.
Cain went east and lived in Nod, and he and his wife had their son, Enoch, and built a city that he named after his son. Enoch had Irad, Irad had Mehujael, who had Methushael, who had Lamech. Lamech had 2 wives; Adah, who bore Jabal, the first nomadic herdsman, and Zillah, who bore Tubal-cain who made tools, and his sister Naamah.
Later, Adam and Eve had another son in place of Abel, whom they named Seth. Seth later had Enosh, and people began to call on the name of the Lord.
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him [a]Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him [b]Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
God created everything and everyone and gave us the free will to choose Him or not. He created all of us to be in a relationship with Him, but He will not force us. He shows mercy to His creation and is patient with us. He designed us not only for relationships with Him, our Creator, but also with other people. He created marriage, a sanctified union between man and woman, and gave us dominion over the earth. He commanded us from the beginning to be fruitful and multiply, to cover the whole earth He had made, and to care for it, rule it, and govern it.
God gave us all we would ever need, and also gave us the choice to glorify Him with obedience, or not. He is the source and maker of all things, and grants us authority here on earth. With this choice, the very first people chose to disobey God, and ever since all of mankind is cursed with sin, which crouches ready to rule over us, yet God commands us to rule over sin instead.
How does the creation story alter your perspective of God?
What does this teach you about who God is?
Does sin rule over you, or do you rule over sin?
How does this story of the very beginning encourage your faith today?
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Have you accepted the grace of God?
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Book of Isaiah and who did they write it for?
The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah himself. He wrote this prophetic book to the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as future generations of exiles and believers.
When did the events of the Book of Isaiah happen?
The events of the Book of Isaiah occurred between 740 and 680 BC during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which was a crucial period in the history of Judah and Israel and about the same time as the founding of Rome and the very first Olympic games. It is likely that Isaiah’s ministry overlapped the ministries of Hosea in Isreal and Micah in Judah.
What was the setting of the Book of Isaiah?
The Israelites were disobedient toward God and needed to be challenged to rekindle their love and devotion to God. The people needed to repent and leave their hypocrisy behind and Isaiah is called to speak up and provide warnings and instructions about the Israelite’s commitment to faith in God or the consequences of remaining in their unbelief.
Displays that prophecy is God’s revelation of Himself and His requirements for His people.
Summary
The book of Isaiah serves as an incredible reminder and lesson on the faithfulness, love, and compassion of God, as well as His role and rank as sovereign God, Creator, Redeemer, and Judge overall. Throughout the book of Isaiah, we read prophecies about the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and also of the hope of a new heaven and new earth.
Isaiah was called to prophetic ministry by a divine encounter with God in the temple which served to be a turning point for Isaiah and seems to have helped immensely to form his theology. Throughout Isaiah, the message is that of hope and redemption for God’s people. Isaiah communicates God’s heart for His people and encourages the Israelites as well as future generations to draw near to Yahweh and to trust in the hope we have in Him.
The book can be separated into 2 main parts, as well. The first 39 chapters focus on the Assyrian threat the Jerusalem, and the remaining chapters focus on the future of Israel and God’s people. Isaiah is bold in his proclamations and exhortations, had a huge impact on the New Testament writers, and is frequently quoted or referenced throughout the New Testament books.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Book of Job and who did they write it for?
It is unknown who wrote the book of Job, but some speculate that Job penned it himself, while others suggest Elihu, Solomon, or maybe even Moses.
When did the events of the Book of Job happen?
The literary style as well as many of the scriptural and cultural references indicate that Job was likely written in Solomon’s lifetime when wisdom literature was flourishing. The events of his book most likely happened before the Exodus or the establishment of the priesthood.
What was the setting of the Book of Job?
Many cultural aspects presented throughout the book of Job indicate a patriarchal setting. The events of the book of Job happened in the land of Uz, the location of which is unknown but was likely somewhere east of the Jordan River, possibly near Syria, Mesopotamia, or even Edom.
What is the purpose of the Book of Job?
Job’s prosperity and the beginning of his afflictions (Job 1-2)
Teaches that there is not always a connection between goodness and suffering.
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Summary
The Book of Job is a story about a man who undergoes immense trials and suffering, all while there is a divine debate between God and Satan about Job’s faithfulness to the Lord. Satan wants to prove Job will deny God while God is confident that Job is more faithful than Satan gives him credit for. All of this is an incredible story that gives us a peek into some of what happens in the heavenly realms against us.
Job’s story is a powerful one that encourages us that we are not alone in our struggles and pains and that our suffering is not always a consequence of sin. Sometimes we need to experience pain in order for our faith to be refined and renewed. Job withstands the peer pressure of his wife and friends, holds fast to God even while he doesn’t understand, and eventually does repent for the sins he has committed. He recognizes that he isn’t guilty of the sins his wife and friends claim he must be, and that is a great encouragement that we can be confident in our innocence, but we must confess and repent of our sins.
Job has a conversation with his friends about his suffering and eventually, we get to see God interject Himself into the conversation. This is also encouraging in that we can have faith that we have the same advocate fighting for and helping us along in our lives.
Job’s story touches the hearts of many for its relatability and heart-opening insights. There is much to meditate on and be encouraged by, and much to take to heart and apply to your own life.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Book of Esther and who did they write it for?
Some attribute the authorship of Esther to Mordecai, but the author is unknown. Whomever wrote Esther was most likely Jewish and lived in Persia. It was written for the Jewish people, but is relevant to Christians as well.
When did the events of the Book of Esther happen?
While the events of Esther took place during the reign of Ahasuerus between 486-465BC, it is unknown when the book of Esther was written. It was likely written after the reign of King Ahasuerus, probably between about 456-300 BC.
What was the setting of the Book of Esther?
The Book of Esther is set about 50 years after the decree of Cyrus that announced that the exiled Jews could return to Jerusalem, and around 25 years before Ezra returned to Jerusalem. King Ahasuerus was on the throne with Susa, an important religious, political, and cultural center, as his capital city in Persia. The Persian empire was located from modern-day India to Turkey and Ethiopia, and the ruins of Susa are in Iran near the Iraq border.
Displays God’s sovereign power to work in all circumstances and through all people to accomplish His will.
Shows God’s providence for His chosen people.
Establishes the origin of Purim, the Jewish Feast off Lots.
Encourages the people of God to stand up in their faith in all circumstances no matter the cost.
Gives examples of how to respond and focus on God in difficult circumstances.
Exhorts believers to be ready and willing to be used by God for His divine purposes.
Contrasts pride and humility, vanity and meekness, and seeking God’s glory versus our own.
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Summary
The story of Esther is near and dear to many hearts, and is commonly referenced for its examples of a godly woman. This story of God using unlikely circumstances to deliver His people is an incredible display of His sovereignty and providence. He is always working for the good of those who love Him even when circumstances are difficult and seem impossible. The book of Esther itself interestingly doesn’t actually mention God at all, but His presence and influence is prominent throughout its entirety. It is a historical account proving again that the enemies of God will not prevail over His chosen people.
Haman, a descendant of the Amalekites who had been enemies of the Jewish people for a long time, sought to destroy God’s people using his influence with the king, hatred for the Jewish people, manipulation, and deception. God used Esther and Mordecai, two Jews who had earned the kings favor, to accomplish His plan to deliver His people from Haman’s schemes.
The book of Esther is a dramatic and beautiful story where much can be learned about God, His people, His calling for His people, and His sovereignty over all thing and all people. We learn a lot about history as well as our own relationships with the Lord throughout this powerful book.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Book of Nehemiah and who did they write it for?
It is widely believed that Nehemiah himself authored the book of Nehemiah, although some believe only parts were written by Nehemiah and the rest of the book was written by Ezra using Nehemiah’s memoirs. It is part of the historical account of the restoration of Jerusalem.
When did the events of the Book of Nehemiah happen?
The events in the book of Nehemiah occurred between around 446-433 BC, but the book was likely written closer to 430-420 BC.
What was the setting of the Book of Nehemiah?
The book of Nehemiah happens in a time when the Jewish people had been rebuilding the city, but were spiritually indifferent toward God and needed encouragement to return to devotion and obedience to the Lord. After Zerubbabel and Ezra had both returned to rebuild Jerusalem, Nehemiah returned not only to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem for the Jewish people’s physical wellbeing but also to rebuild their spiritual wellbeing.
Restoration of the Jewish people in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13)
How does the Book of Nehemiah apply to my life?
Records the physical and spiritual restoration of Jerusalem under the godly leadership of Nehemiah.
Provides an example of godly leadership during times of trials, criticism, and opposition.
Continues the historical account of the Jewish people being restored again to God.
Emphasizes the importance of a spiritual health, prayer, and obedience to God and His Law.
Gives hope that God will continually restore His people to Himself.
Teaches that God’s will always prevails even when His people disobey.
Provides an example of godly sacrifice, priorities, and relationship.
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Summary
The book of Nehemiah may have been written completely by Nehemiah himself, or may have been at least partially penned by Ezra under Nehamiah’s name, likely using Nehemiah’s memoirs as a reference. Nehemiah and Ezra were one book in the Hebrew Bible, and have many similarities in writing style, verses, and tone. It is uncertain, though, who wrote it for sure.
Nehemiah was someone who had high favor in Persia and was cupbearer to the King of Persia. He gave up his luxurious palace life and position of trust to return to Jerusalem with the Persian Ping’s permission to rebuild the walls. He went back to Jerusalem and found himself not only restoring the walls, but also restoring the Jewish people spiritually. They were spiritually indifferent and needed bold encouragement to obey God’s Law once again.
Nehemiah was a man of deep, personal prayer and sets an incredible example of godly leadership. He faced much criticism and opposition, but had a heart to restore the people of God to God. He knew that the rebuilding of the walls would mean nothing without the rebuilding of the people’s spiritual health and dependance on God. As Nehemiah works hard alongside the people, we get to see another incredible part of God’s redemptive story playout reminding us that God is faithful, He continually restores His people, and His plans will be accomplished regardless of His people’s disobedience.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more aboutsalvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Book of Ezra and who did they write it for?
The author of the book of Ezra is commonly believed to be the prophet, Ezra. This book was written for the Israelites who had returned to Judah from exile in Babylon.
When did the events of the Book of Ezra happen?
The book of Ezra covers the events from the decree of the Persian King Cyrus in around 539 BC that were written about at the closing of Chronicles and goes through the time of Ezra returning to Israel in about 458 BC
What was the setting of the Book of Ezra?
Babylon was just conquered by Persia, and the Persian King Cyrus released the Israelites to go back to their land. The people return to rebuild God’s temple under His instruction.
Gives examples of God’s people working and living united in a common goal.
Proves that God can work in anyone’s heart and life.
Addresses how God keeps the promises He makes to His people and preserves the site of the temple.
Teaches of God’s sovereignty, faithfulness, provision, holy judgment, and just punishment for sin.
Reinforces that our Holy God requires holy living from His people.
Shows evidence that God does not give up on His people.
Teaches the importance of keeping regular worship, prayer, and the reading and application of God’s Word.
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Summary
The book of Ezra is a continuation of 1 and 2 Chronicles and picks up with the proclamation of the Persian King Cyrus who had just conquered Babylon. He gave the Jewish people permission to return to Israel, and over the next 100 years covered in both Ezra and Nehemiah, they returned, resettled, and worked to rebuild God’s temple.
When the people began to return to Israel, they found it changed. It was no longer blooming and beautiful, they no longer had a Davidic King, the temple was gone, but the site for the temple had been preserved by God over the years. Ezra returned with the second round of exiles returning from Babylon and it is believed that he wrote this book while Nehemiah came a few years later and continued the story in the book of Nehemiah.
It is commonly believed that Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one continuous narrative, and some believe Nehemiah may have been first before Ezra. Regardless of whose account came first, they are both vital pieces of the Israelite’s history as they delve into the struggles they faced in coming out of so long in exile and the lessons they learned during the punishment for their long disobedience.
The book of Ezra dives into many of the lessons the Jewish people learned, and that we should learn from, concerning disobedience to God and the consequences of sin. God is holy and calls on His people to live holy lives centered on Him. We can find much encouragement and life lessons through the continuation of the Israelite’s story and the evidence of God all over their lives. God teaches us through this book that we should maintain regular worship and prayer, and cling to, learn from, and live out God’s holy Word.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more about salvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
Who wrote the Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles and who did they write it for?
It is unknown for certain who authored 1 and 2 Chronicles. Often attributed simply to “the chronicler”, it is widely believed that Ezra wrote these books.
When did the events of Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles happen?
The events in 1 and 2 Chronicles are a duplication and expansion of the history recorded in the books of Genesis through 2 Kings. These events are believed to have occurred from Creation to approximately 400 BC. 1 and 2 Chronicles were likely written somewhere between 425-400 BC.
What was the setting of the Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles?
The events within 1 and 2 Chronicles cover the events from Creation to the end of the Israelite’s exile to Babylon. These records end in the time when the Persian Empire reigned over Jerusalem, had replaced the monarchy, and allowed the Israelites to return to the land and rebuild the temple. Unfortunately, a lot had changed during their exile and it was much different than the glory days of David and Solomon’s reigns.
What is the purpose of the Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles?
It is unknown for certain who wrote the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, but early Jewish tradition gives Ezra credit, and the first three verses of the book of Ezra match the last verses of 2 Chronicles. Because of this, many believe it was Ezra who penned these books of Israel’s history by divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These books were originally one text titled “Events of the Days”, and were later separated and renamed “Things Passed Over”. These titles are likely because these books don’t necessarily carry on the history from the point of 1 and 2 Kings, but rather they duplicate and expand on the history provided in Genesis through 2 Kings.
The content of 1 and 2 Chronicles differs from the accounts given in other Old Testament books in that it focuses more on a priestly outlook versus a monarchy and kingly perspective. It also provides more of a theological narrative of historical events versus simply providing an account of historical events.
1 and 2 Chronicles can be broken up into four main sections covering genealogies, David’s reign, Solomon’s reign, and the remaining rulers of Israel after them. These records served as an encouragement to those who were returning from exile and needed to be built up in their faith during those extremely difficult and dangerous times. These people also needed hope for the future while their whole lives were being uprooted and the future would have seemed incredibly uncertain.
We can draw the same kinds of encouragements and exhortations from these books, and be reminded of God’s faithfulness and hope no matter what we face in our lives. Being strong in faith and seeking to grow in our relationship with and obedience to the Lord will lead to blessings, even when we go through trials and sufferings along the way.
If you have not accepted the grace of God and chosen to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I encourage you to pray to God now and invite Him in, accept Jesus as the sacrifice for your sins, and repent of your sins. Submit it all to God, lay it at His feet, seek the forgiveness of God, welcome Him into your life, and believe that Jesus died and rose again to save you from your sins.
If you would like to learn more aboutsalvation, you can find a couple of studies that may help here:
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